The fund seeks capital appreciation in the long term by investing in companies outside the United States.
The investment process starts with a list of companies in the benchmark index and the research team utilizes quantitative techniques and fundamental analysis to identify investment opportunities.
Next, the research team invests in equity securities of non-U.S. issuers, located in both developed and emerging markets.
The research process is driven by fundamental analysis of one stock at a time. In selecting securities for the portfolio, the research team focuses on companies that are trading at a significant discount to their estimated intrinsic value.
The team evaluates companies based on its financial statements and operations.
Then the manager constructs a portfolio of stocks from a list of companies favored by the research team and allocates capital based on its conviction level.
The fund invests in securities of companies domiciled in at least three different foreign countries.
Generally, the fund's investments in any country are limited to 25% or less of its net assets.
Also, the fund may invest without limitation in securities of emerging market issuers, but generally will not invest more than 25% of its net assets in securities of issuers located in any one emerging market country.
The fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers.
Additionally, the fund may invest up to 5% of its net assets in below investment grade debt securities, including below investment grade convertible debt securities and securities of issuers that are in default.
The fund also may hold cash or other short-term instruments.
The fund may invest in initial public offerings of equity securities.